 Grace Slick........Artist Profile
"...creation is taking place constantly and my life is a result of and a pursuit of that process." -------- Grace Slick |
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Grace Slick was born, Grace Barnett Wing, on October 30, 1939 in a suburb of Chicago. Grace's artistic side came from her mother Virginia who had been an actress and singer in the early '30's. Grace's father was an investment banker.
When Grace was three years old, she and her family moved to Los Angeles and in 1945 they moved again to San Francisco. Grace stayed in San Francisco until 1957 when she left to attend a prestigious New York finishing school for girls. In 1959 she transferred to the University of Miami. |
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In 1960 Grace was enticed back to San Francisco by a friend. Here Grace's beauty earned her a job as a designer clothing model at the affluent store I. Magnin. In August of 1961 Grace married Jerry Slick and the name Grace Slick was born.
In 1965 Grace learned of a new band called Jefferson Airplane. A week later, she and Jerry heard the band at a local club and Grace decided that being in a rock band would be fun and it also paid better than modeling. Grace formed her own band, the Great Society, with her husband Jerry and brother-in-law Darby Slick. They made their music debut in San Francisco on September 22, 1965 and shortly afterward they were opening for local bands including Jefferson Airplane. Great Society was even offered a recording contract by Columbia Records. But by the time the contract arrived in the mail the band was no more. In September 1966, Jack Casady, the lead singer for Jefferson Airplane, asked Grace to join the group. Grace gladly accepted and with that decision she began her ride into rock n' roll history. Shortly after joining Jefferson Airplane, the group recorded their second album to which Grace contributed "White Rabbit," a song she wrote while she was with Great Society. Even at that time , Grace pushed the envelope to comment on a society that took drugs to change themselves, but condemned drug use by their own children. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Grace survived the age of easy drugs and she continued to express herself to the delight of fans and the detriment of the censors. By the late 60's Grace's marriage was not going well and she and Jerry divorced in 1971. In that same year she had a daughter by Paul Kantner named China. Grace has always had an expressive soul leading her to artistic pursuits. Her focus is now on the visual arts. Her subjects include friends and fellow musicians, such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia. She paints the souls of those to which she feels a true connection. Her portraits represent many things to many different people. Her artwork evokes an immediate and overwhelming response. Today, Grace is happily painting and living in Malibu, California. |
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